swale1984 wrote:That was tricky; I thought about Spendthrift but mis-read the question so many times I thought I was looking for a female ancestor!

I know it was a tricky question, I didn't know how to word it. Very glad you got the answer right!

This future Kentucky Derby winner nearly died in a fire when he was two years old. The fire, at a racetrack, killed 22 of his owner's horses, 21 of which were 2yos. Luckily he had been shipped to Churchill Downs with the stables Kentucky Derby entrants.

Flanders wrote:This future Kentucky Derby winner nearly died in a fire when he was two years old. The fire, at a racetrack, killed 22 of his owner's horses, 21 of which were 2yos. Luckily he had been shipped to Churchill Downs with the stables Kentucky Derby entrants.

Yep, I remember reading about that in one of the horse books ten or fifteen years ago. I think it was Elizabeth Arden's Jet Pilot. She sure loved and spoiled her horses, and that fire was a horrible tragedy. I'm pretty bad at remembering trivia though, so maybe I got some of this wrong.

Sparrow Castle wrote:Yep, I remember reading about that in one of the horse books ten or fifteen years ago. I think it was Elizabeth Arden's Jet Pilot. She sure loved and spoiled her horses, and that fire was a horrible tragedy. I'm pretty bad at remembering trivia though, so maybe I got some of this wrong.

Okay, I have one that might be easy for those who read all the old famous horse books. This horse was considered the best of his time. Most of his races were in 4 mile heats. Some folks called him His Excellency. Big hint: It seems like his 200th birthday passed unheralded in May by all but one sharp friend of mine.

Yep, also know as American Eclipse. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1970. His story was told in John Eisenberg's "The Great Match Race: When North Met South in Americas First Sports Spectacle."

Sparrow Castle wrote:Yep, also know as American Eclipse. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1970. His story was told in John Eisenberg's "The Great Match Race: When North Met South in Americas First Sports Spectacle."

Sparrow Castle wrote:Yep, also know as American Eclipse. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1970. His story was told in John Eisenberg's "The Great Match Race: When North Met South in Americas First Sports Spectacle."

Just finished reading that book, about three weeks ago! Great read!!!

Yeah, I thought so too. He really wove in a lot of history, some of which was new to me. I love books like that.